Emergency Markers

Location information challenges are particularly difficult for ‘open space’ locations with no set addresses such as beaches, parks and trails. Emergency markers are designed to pinpoint your exact location during an emergency in public open spaces or a hard to define places.

A major safety upgrade to the popular Ballarat Skipton Rail Trail was completed with the installation of 55 emergency markers. Walkers, cyclists and horse-riders enjoying the trail are now never more than a few hundred metres from a marker post that will help speed up an emergency response if they need to call triple zero.

Emergency markers look like a street signs with white text on a green background. Each has a unique alphanumeric code made up of three letters and three numbers. This code is linked to ESTA’s CAD system and specifies the location, GPS coordinates, road access route or navigational data, all of which assists the dispatch of emergency services.

ESTA now has more than 2700 emergency marker locations identifiable to call-takers in the Computer Aided Dispatch system. A total of 401 emergency markers were added during 2013-14, covering 20 new environments and locations. Victoria has 162 locations served by the marker program with efforts during the year focused on a number of shared user trails and pathways.

For further information on the emergency markers program, or for a copy of the Markers Design Guidelines, please email the team at Emergency.Markers [at] esta.vic.gov.au or call Jeff Adair, Markers Manager on (03) 8656 1218.

ESTA has partnered with QR2id to publish the locations of emergency markers across Victoria - visit the QR2id portal for imagery and data of Victoria's emergency markers. The site also has other public safety markers found in other states and territories, as part of a public safety initiative.